Lorenzo: I won't replace Stoner
2012-06-15 11:49
'A DECISION FROM THE HEART': MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo will stick with Yamaha until 2014 and not replace retiring Casey Stoner.
Author: ALAN BALDWIN
MotoGP championship leader Jorge Lorenzo has revealed that he has turned down an offer from Honda to replace Casey Stoner.
Yamaha announced that its rider would stay with the team until the end of the 2014 season and Lorenzo told reporters ahead of the the British MotoGP that it had been a decision of the heart.
"I'm really happy to stay. It was a difficult decision this time as I had another offer from another brand, from Honda, and the decision was very tough, but I finally listened to my heart and my heart said 'Yamaha'," he said.
Lorenzo said he hoped that Stoner might change his mind: "I waited that he (Stoner) might change his opinion and come back to Honda for another year. So I left the place open to Casey."
Stoner, the 2011 champion, said in May 2012 he would retire at the end of the season because he had lost his love of the sport.